


Jericho

by fridaysblues (taemin)



Series: In Pursuit of Happiness AU [2]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: City Hall Wedding, Dry Humping, M/M, Marriage, Post Mpreg, Sleepy Sex, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-16
Updated: 2016-01-16
Packaged: 2018-05-14 07:02:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5734057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taemin/pseuds/fridaysblues
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>it's not a fancy, formal ceremony, but that doesn't mean they're any less married now. </p><p>set ~7 months after <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/5311937">58 bpm.</a></p>
            </blockquote>





	Jericho

★★★

It's still pitch black outside when Minsu starts whimpering over the baby monitor, voice plaintive and insistent. Kyungsoo sits up at the first sound of it, eyes still mostly closed. He isn't expecting to collide with the warm body splayed prone across the other side of the bed.

"Dammit," he says as Minsu's wailing ticks up a notch. "Chanyeol. Chanyeol?"

Kyungsoo hadn't heard him come in, but it must have been recently because he's still in all his clothes, phone in his hand. His suitcase is leaning against the far wall, handle still pulled out to balance it. He doesn't stir when Kyungsoo climbs over him, nor when Kyungsoo gently tugs the phone out of his hand to plug it into the charger on the night stand.

Kyungsoo stumbles back to bed after Minsu's been fed and burped and changed. He'll sleep through until the morning now, which gives Kyungsoo enough time to catch another couple of hours before their alarm. They've got a lot to do today.

Chanyeol's flopped over on his back now, pants off, squinting blearily at Kyungsoo when he comes in. "Time is it," he slurs, and Kyungsoo crawls back under the covers without answering. He curls up into Chanyeol's side instead, heaving a contented sigh now that he can start to feel his toes again. They haven't shared a bed in a couple nights now because Chanyeol's been in Los Angeles for another studio gig all week, so Kyungsoo doesn't care that it hurts his neck to sleep like this. He just wants to be close again.

Time passes. Kyungsoo keeps drifting in and out, listening to the snow plows trundle slowly down the street outside. He's warm and his head's all fuzzy and then suddenly Chanyeol's more responsive, rolling over into him, hands braced on Kyungsoo's waist to hold him steady as he grinds up against him with purpose.

"Hi," Chanyeol whispers. Kyungsoo nods, the first stirrings of arousal shooting through his veins with Chanyeol's body pressed tightly together with his. He doesn't want to wake up enough to speak, but he kisses Chanyeol back inelegantly, lazy-mouthed, moaning quietly in time with the push of Chanyeol's hips. There used to be a time in his life when this was the warm-up to a marathon, but now this is enough, just knowing Chanyeol's exhausted and still wants him, regardless.

Chanyeol's breathing hitches, his forehead dropping to Kyungsoo's shoulder as his pelvis stutters forward, leaving a damp patch spreading across the front of his underwear. He coaxes Kyungsoo the rest of the way with his hand pushed past the elastic waistband of his sweatpants, humming, smiling by the time Kyungsoo breaks into an overwhelmed gasp of satisfaction.

"Mmm, good one," Kyungsoo murmurs after, already mostly asleep again.

"Would've been better inside you," Chanyeol says, burying a drowsy smile in the curve of Kyungsoo's neck. "Maybe tomorrow night."

Kyungsoo means to agree, but he's too tired to come up with words, so he just squeezes Chanyeol's hand and hopes it'll suffice.

★★★

They oversleep, even the baby for a change, which means once they finally get up they’re running behind. Chanyeol can’t find the tie he wants to wear, and then Minsu needs a fresh diaper, and then Kyungsoo can’t find the apartment keys and he’s about ready to tear apart the couch cushions in search of them until Chanyeol sheepishly pulls them out of a side pocket in the diaper bag.

"Yura's already there," Kyungsoo says when they’ve finally got a seat on the bus, anxiously thumbing through his texts like it’ll get them to the courthouse any faster. "She's parking right now."

"Hey. We’ll get there," Chanyeol says, taking his hand off the stroller for a moment to squeeze Kyungsoo’s knee. Minsu regards them from the shelter of the stroller’s hood with a serious expression, a soft dinosaur toy—a gift from Uncle Jongdae, naturally—clutched tightly in his hands.

Kyungsoo moves to reach in and adjust his coat, but Chanyeol stops him.

"He's fine," Chanyeol says. "Leave him."

"He's outgrowing it already." Kyungsoo frowns. "It fit him last week when we bought it."

"Babies do that. He won’t outgrow it by the end of the day."

"You sure about that? He’s bigger than he was yesterday. I can't keep up with his growth spurts. Your genes are ridiculous."

Chanyeol laughs and kisses Kyungsoo's temple the way he always does when Kyungsoo starts getting exasperated. "Too late now. He’s stuck with them."

Kyungsoo hums thoughtfully and goes back to his phone. Baekhyun's texting him now, rapid-fire and full of typos. "Baekhyun and Jongdae are there already," Kyungsoo says, holding the phone up so Chanyeol can read. "They drove in this morning and still made it before we did."

"Relax. They can't start without us." He turns back to the stroller, where Minsu's kicking off his blanket. "Where are his socks?"

"Oh, for—hold on," Kyungsoo says, practically folding himself in half trying to search under the seats. He finds them, balled up and damp with slush from the hundreds of boots that trekked through the bus today. "Shit," he huffs, trying to smack off the worst of it against the edge of the seat.

"He means 'oh dear'," Chanyeol tells Minsu, like it makes much of a difference anyway. Minsu beams at the attention, his smile still toothless—although he's been fussier and drooling more than usual lately, so Kyungsoo has a feeling he'll be cutting his first tooth any day now. "Here, give them to me. I'll put them back on."

"He’s just going to kick them off again," Kyungsoo warns, recognizing that glint in Minsu's eyes when he's trying to work something out. Chanyeol shrugs, slipping them back on with practiced ease.

"We have to try. It’s freezing."

★★★

Kyungsoo's right, of course: Minsu's down one sock again (lost forever to the 57 bus) when Yura meets them on the steps of the courthouse, wearing a dress far too short for the weather and a coat that nearly makes up for it, but not quite. She lights up when she sees them and waves her arms crazily to attract their attention, almost as though they wouldn't recognize her after she'd just been up to visit last weekend.

"Yura. It’s December, you can’t wear something like that. You’re going to freeze to death."

"Well whose fault is that? You picked the date. At least I'll look good when they're wrapping me up. Give him here. Oh, hello Minsu, I missed you so much. You’ve gotten so big." She plucks him from the stroller and kisses his cheeks, his nose, his forehead, until he squawks with delighted laughter. "You like my dress, don't you?"

"Somehow, I think she’s not here for us," Chanyeol says to Kyungsoo, smiling anyway. 

"Of course I'm not. Look at how handsome he is," Yura gushes, bouncing him on her hip. Minsu coos and wraps his little fist around her necklace, trying to jam the entire turquoise pendant into his mouth. "Chanyeol, you’re so lucky he looks like Kyungsoo."

"He does not," Chanyeol says indignantly. "Mom says he’s the spitting image of me as a baby."

"Oh, baby bro. She’s lying to make you feel better. Minsu’s much cuter than you ever were." She finally notices the missing sock. "You guys! It's freezing out here! Why doesn't he have a sock?"

"He hates wearing them," Kyungsoo says, already digging through the diaper bag for a replacement sock. Chanyeol checks his pockets to make sure he’s brought all the necessary paperwork. He looks panicked for a second until Kyungsoo pulls the envelope out of the diaper bag along with a fresh pair of socks for Minsu and hands everything over for Chanyeol to handle.

"Are you ready?" Yura asks. "They're waiting."

Chanyeol grabs at Kyungsoo's free hand and squeezes it, his fingers surprisingly warm despite going without gloves in this weather. "Yeah," he says, megawatt grin splitting his face wide open. "Let's go."

★★★

Kyungsoo isn't expecting to be the one that cries, but his eyes start stinging the minute their names are called and they're ushered inside the clerk's office. The clerk pushes the box of tissues over towards him and smiles.

"That's why they're here," she says comfortingly, which only makes Kyungsoo want to die even more. Baekhyun fails to conceal his amusement, sniggering into his fist loudly enough that Jongdae has to elbow him quiet. "Do you have the rings?"

Before Kyungsoo can retrieve them from his jacket pocket, Minsu interrupts the ceremony with an abrupt wail. The clerk smiles, unperturbed. Jongdae clucks soothingly, trying to distract him with the dinosaur, but Kyungsoo looks over his shoulder to where Minsu’s straining against Yura's arms, reaching out for his fathers. Chanyeol’s one step ahead of Kyungsoo, rising from his chair to bring Minsu back into his lap. Minsu buries his face in Chanyeol's neck and snuffles contentedly, his thumb firmly in his mouth.

Chanyeol balances Minsu in one arm long enough for Kyungsoo to slip the ring on his finger and then kisses them both in turn—Kyungsoo first, then Minsu. When he pulls away he's blinking hard and his eyes are misty, too. Minsu grunts at the sudden jostling and changes his mind about which lap he wants to be in. He grabs onto Kyungsoo's jacket and won't let go, so there's an awkward shuffling pause when Chanyeol extracts himself long enough to put a ring on Kyungsoo's finger while Minsu's busy trying to jam Kyungsoo's tie in his mouth.

"Anybody else want a turn holding the baby?" Baekhyun cracks, and everyone in the room laughs.

"Love you," Chanyeol says, eyes riveted to Kyungsoo's. Kyungsoo nods bashfully before he murmurs it in return, still self-conscious about saying it out loud in front of their friends. Still—that's it. It wasn't a fancy, formal ceremony, but that doesn't mean they're any less married now. The clerk shakes their hands to congratulate them before they're ushered back into the hallway, past the lobby full of nervous couples waiting their turn. 

Yura takes half a dozen pictures of them on the courthouse steps, and then asks a passerby to take one of everyone together, Minsu in the middle, secure in Kyungsoo's arms.

"I'll see you tomorrow night," she promises, checking her phone. "Dinner with Mom and Dad. Can't wait. Congratulations! Love you!" She kisses everyone on the cheek—even Baekhyun—and takes the steps two at a time, already on a call with someone, probably her editor back at the Globe.

"What’s this?" Baekhyun demands, twisting Chanyeol's ring around to get a good look at the shape of the sound wave cutout. Chanyeol goes to pull away and finds Baekhyun’s grip too strong to break. "This isn’t something cheesy like you guys saying 'I love you' to each other or something, is it?"

"No, it’s—it’s not that," Kyungsoo murmurs, slipping his own hand into his pocket.

Baekhyun stares at Chanyeol's for a moment longer, stumped. "It looks like—is it a word?"

Jongdae hits him. "Shut up, you can’t tell what a sound wave is just by looking at it."

Baekhyun persists. "Is it one of our songs?"

"No." Kyungsoo smiles at the secret they’re keeping: it’s Minsu’s heartbeat from the first sonogram. Chanyeol’s been carrying around the file on his laptop since last year. He’d found the time to clean up the audio and sent it off, surprising Kyungsoo with them last week. But Baekhyun’s right—it’s cheesy as shit. No need to expose themselves to that kind of humiliation so readily. They’ll figure it out eventually, but for now this is just between the two of them.

"We've got to get going, too," Jongdae says regretfully, starting the round of hugs all over again. Baekhyun's got to get back to New York before his rehearsal starts tonight. He's been bouncing around the off-Broadway musical scene since he and Jongdae had moved to New York over the summer, and he's starting to catch the attention of a few agents. Kyungsoo's excited for Baekhyun, even though there's also a tiny part of him that bristles with jealousy every time he hears about something new and exciting in his life. Just a tiny bit, for half a second, and then it's over. Once upon a time, it could have been him, but now… he can't imagine _not_ being Minsu's dad. It seems so anticlimactic now, outside in the light of day. They have a son together. The kid's the bigger commitment, one they made to each other over a year ago. It all started with that heartbeat.

Tucked safely back in his stroller, Minsu's engrossed by the bright blue socks on his feet, the new pair Chanyeol had forced on him in the waiting room of the clerk's office. He purses his lips, the very picture of concentration as he tries to work out how to rid himself of the offending footwear once again, and Kyungsoo sees the familiar dimple in his cheek, the one that mirrors Chanyeol's. Yura gives him far too much credit for Minsu when the Park family resemblance is a hard thing to overcome.

★★★

After, they take Minsu for a long walk through the Aquarium. Chanyeol's been begging Kyungsoo for the day trip since before Minsu was born, and although at this point it's more for Chanyeol's benefit than Minsu's, Kyungsoo's happy to spend the time as just the three of them, the unlikely family. Chanyeol carries Minsu the whole way, pointing at the glass when a seal swoops past. Kyungsoo snaps a few pictures of the two of them in front of the penguins when Chanyeol's not paying attention, too busy watching Minsu's face light up when a penguin flips smoothly into the water.

Kyungsoo's phone starts blowing up with notifications the minute he puts it back in his pocket. Jongdae’s already uploaded the picture of them together at the courthouse up on his Instagram. _Getting the band back together. Not sure about this new singer but we’re going to give him a shot,_ the caption reads. A few eager fans have commented with at least a dozen variations on _congratulations/omg he’s gotten so big!/don’t tease us :(_ underneath. He wants to comment, but finds he's got nothing to say. Not today, when Minsu's laughing at the fish and Chanyeol keeps glancing over his shoulder at Kyungsoo, grinning, beckoning for him to come and join them.

With the long morning they've had, it's not surprising that Minsu falls asleep on the bus ride home. He doesn't even stir for the walk back to their apartment from the bus stop. Chanyeol puts him down in his crib without bothering to change him back into his pyjamas and then stands in the doorway for a while, just watching him.

"Hey," Kyungsoo says softly, arm around Chanyeol's waist to draw him away. "If you keep standing there he's going to wake up, and then I'll have to kill you."

Chanyeol laughs and pulls the door closed. "I can't help it. He's cute."

"Yura's wrong, you know," Kyungsoo says, standing in the middle of the living room unbuttoning his shirt cuffs. "He looks exactly like you."

A crooked little smile works its way across Chanyeol's face, eyes soft and fond. "I think you just called me cute."

Kyungsoo scowls. "Not you. Just your spawn."

"He's your spawn, too." Chanyeol steps forward, hands cupping Kyungsoo's face to pin him in place. He leans down, mouth hovering. "Have I ever told you how much I love you in a suit?" he rumbles, the heavy steel of his ring cold against Kyungsoo's cheek when he finally kisses him. Kyungsoo closes his eyes and kisses him back, hands searching up the back of Chanyeol’s shirt to his warm skin.

★★★

**Author's Note:**

> oops surprise part two.


End file.
